Bloggers call on Kraft to get the dye out of Mac & Cheese

Kraft Macaroni & Cheese is on a shelf at a grocery store in Washington, D.C., in a 2012 file photo. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Because Kraft uses dye to color its Macaroni & Cheese, two food bloggers have created a petition on Change.org asking Northfield-based company to stop.

Vani Hari, author of "Food Babe," and Lisa Leake, who writes "100 Days of Real Food," claim that the dyes, Yellow #5 and Yellow #6, are not used in other countries, such as Great Britain, "because they were removed due to consumer outcry." The Charlotte, N.C.-based bloggers allege that the artificial dyes can cause hyperactivity in children as well as health problems including asthma and migraines.

The petition has garnered more than 50,000 signatures.

Kraft did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, a statement posted at Change.org attributed to Kraft spokeswoman Lynne Galia said the company takes "concerns very seriously," and follows "the laws and regulations in the countries where our products are sold."

Kraft is not the first local company to come under consumer pressure regarding ingredients. Gatorade said in January that it would reformulate its products in the U.S. to remove brominated vegetable oil, an emulsifier.